Ultraman Zearth 2 (1997)

Article 6080 by Dave Sindelar

Date: 2-25-2023

Directed by Kazuya Konaka

Featuring Masaharu Sekiguchi, Takaaki Ishibashi, Noritake KinashiW

Country: Japan

What it is: Ultraman sequel

After a humiliating defeat by a dark Ultraman, Ultraman Zearth’s human identity suffers great despair and loses his self-confidence.  Can he regain it before the dark Ultraman returns?
The sequel ratchets back the overt comedy of the first movie, largely because the central internal battle Zearth must contend with this time is more substantial than the germophobia of the first movie.  Still, there are laughs to be hand here, such as the monster robot added to the MYDO team along with a geeky technology expert.  Overall it comes off a little like an episode from “Ultraman Leo” in that the plot hinges on our hero accomplishing a near impossible task to strengthen his abilities.  Apparently these two movies featured a number of actors from the original series from the sixties and seventies. All in all, it’s amusing enough, though I do see why this one stuck to two movies rather than a whole series.